Police rescue elderly couple held captive by daughter-in-law in Nayagarh

Ranpur: Police here, Wednesday rescued a couple who had been kept captive by their daughter-in-law at Dihagaon in Nayagarh district.

The daughter-in-law reportedly kept the couple captive for months after her husband refrained from returning home following his extra-marital affair at office.

The couple, Raghunath Routray and Hema Routray, has been admitted at the Ranpur government hospital, where they are undergoing treatment. .

Prabhasini, daughter of Raghunath and Hema, had lodged a complaint with the police alleging that her sister-in-law was not allowing her parents to go outside even for treatment.

Later she approached the Odisha High Court and a case was registered under WPC No-4. Hearing the case, the HC January 17 directed the police to take steps to get the couple released.

Following the directive, a police team comprising Ranpur police station ASI SS Haro and Sunakhala outpost officer Subhash Champatiray visited the place where the couple had been held captive and rescued them.

According to the complaint by Prabhasini, her brother Ranjan Routray’s wife Kuni Routray had put her father Raghunath and mother Hema under house arrest for more than one month. She had even not allowed any relatives to meet them.

Ranjan (32), is a health worker at a government hospital in Cuttack. He married Kuni, the only daughter of Neelamani Pradhan of Khandiabandh village of Champapedi panchayat near Chandpur in Nayagarh district in 2015. They have a daughter as well.

Meanwhile, Ranjan developed an extramarital affair with one of his colleagues. When Kuni asked Ranjan about the affair, he got angry and thrashed her.

After informing her family about this, Kuni had lodged a complaint with Sunakhala outpost against her husband and in-laws.

Though a case was registered, the police had not arrested anyone.

The case had taken a twist when Kuni was not allowed to stay at her in-laws’ house.

Protesting against the treatment inflicted on Kuni, her father and some villagers had staged a sit-in in front of Raghunath’s house.

Later, with the intervention of police and villagers, Kuni had been allowed to stay at home. But Ranjan had stopped coming to the house after the incident.